# Rui Pedro (footballer, born 1998)

Rui Pedro da Silva e Sousa (born 20 March 1998), known as Rui Pedro, is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward or winger for Turkish Süper Lig club Hatayspor.

## Club career

Born in Castelo de Paiva, Aveiro District, Rui Pedro joined Porto's youth system in 2012, aged 14. On 24 January 2015, at the age of 16, he made his professional debut with their B team, coming on as a late substitute in a 1–0 away loss against Oliveirense in the Segunda Liga.
On 3 December 2016, whilst still a junior, Rui Pedro first appeared in the Primeira Liga with the main squad; after replacing Óliver Torres 15 minutes from the end of the home fixture against Braga, he scored the only goal in injury time, ending the club's negative run of 520 minutes without finding the net. Four days later, also from the bench, he played his first match in the UEFA Champions League, as the hosts defeated already qualified Leicester City 5–0 to also reach the knockout stage; late in the year, UEFA.com selected him as their "weekly wonderkid".
Rui Pedro went on to serve four loans during his spell at the Estádio do Dragão, starting out at Boavista (top division), then moving to Varzim (second tier), Granada B (Spanish Segunda División B) and Leixões (division two). In September 2020, he signed a permanent two-year contract with the latter.
From January 2021 to June 2022, Rui Pedro continued competing in his country's second division with Penafiel, but he only managed to score five times in all competitions during his tenure. In August 2022, he agreed to a deal at Olimpija Ljubljana of the Slovenian PrvaLiga. He claimed the double in his first season at the latter, contributing six goals in the league.
Rui Pedro was deemed surplus to requirements by manager Zoran Zeljković in January 2024 due to contract issues, in spite of leading the team and league in scoring and having been voted Player of the Month for the previous November. He moved to Turkey on 9 February, signing a two-and-a-half-year deal with Süper Lig club Hatayspor.

## Career statistics

    As of match played 14 December 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National cup | National cup | League cup | League cup | Continental | Continental | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Porto B | 2014–15 | Segunda Liga | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 0 |
| Porto B | 2015–16 | LigaPro | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 |
| Porto B | 2016–17 | LigaPro | 16 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 16 | 5 |
| Porto B | 2018–19 | LigaPro | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 0 |
| Porto B | Total | Total | 23 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 23 | 5 |
| Porto | 2016–17 | Primeira Liga | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 2 |
| Boavista (loan) | 2017–18 | Primeira Liga | 19 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 1 |
| Varzim (loan) | 2018–19 | LigaPro | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 1 |
| Granada B (loan) | 2019–20 | Segunda División B | 14 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 14 | 2 |
| Leixões (loan) | 2019–20 | LigaPro | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 |
| Leixões | 2020–21 | Liga Portugal 2 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 15 | 2 |
| Leixões | Total | Total | 15 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 2 |
| Penafiel | 2020–21 | Liga Portugal 2 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 16 | 2 |
| Penafiel | 2021–22 | Liga Portugal 2 | 24 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 30 | 3 |
| Penafiel | Total | Total | 40 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 46 | 5 |
| Olimpija Ljubljana | 2022–23 | Slovenian PrvaLiga | 27 | 6 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 31 | 6 |
| Olimpija Ljubljana | 2023–24 | Slovenian PrvaLiga | 19 | 10 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 2 | 34 | 12 |
| Olimpija Ljubljana | Total | Total | 46 | 16 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 2 | 65 | 18 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 179 | 32 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 15 | 2 | 211 | 36 |
* ↑ Appearance in UEFA Champions League
* ↑ Six appearances and two goals in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League, six appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

## Honours

Porto B
* LigaPro: 2015–16
Olimpija Ljubljana
* Slovenian PrvaLiga: 2022–23
* Slovenian Cup: 2022–23
Individual
* Slovenian PrvaLiga Player of the Month: November 2023
* UEFA European Under-19 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2017